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“Yes. Thank you for asking.” Aiden grinned at the general’s glower and then turned to Chalisa. He slipped his shirt over his head and felt the satisfaction of her eyes trailing over his chest and her mouth going slack. “Hold this for me, will you, love?”
Chalisa took the shirt but didn’t move. “Aiden, please. You’ve obviously got something to prove, and you’re confident in your skills, but you have no idea how tough Kingston is.”
Aiden had something to prove every moment of his life, but this one was going to be fun. He glanced at Kingston; the man looked like a bull raring to plow into him. “One moment, General. Neither of us wants the beautiful lady in danger if the fight gets out of control.”
Kingston tilted his chin down, his deep-blue eyes wary. Aiden took that as permission. Not that he needed anybody’s permission.
He bent and swept Chalisa’s legs off the ground, cradling her upper body against his. Kingston grunted in disapproval, and Stuart let out a whistle. Aiden had broken his decree to not touch her within moments of making it. He couldn’t regret it. Not yet. He’d partially done it to upset Kingston more. He loved getting into a guy’s head before a fight.
The other reason he’d picked his perfect woman up … She was irresistible. He smiled gallantly in the face of her beautiful confusion and carried her toward where her family waited in the grandstands.
“What are you doing?” Chalisa asked, breathless, those full lips of hers begging to be kissed. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, still clinging to his shirt with one hand. Her warm, soft palm on his bare flesh sparked heat inside his chest.
“Forgive me, love, but I need to remove you from the field of battle. Your safety always comes first.” He grinned, though his heart was racing out of control.
“I want you to be safe,” she insisted, cuddling in closer to him, her lips brushing his jaw.
“Oh, I will be,” he assured her, savoring the feel of her in his arms. Thrilling, unmatched, consuming, and right. Absolutely right. That’s what Chalisa in his arms was.
He needed to set her down. He didn’t want to.
Sadly, they reached the entrance to the grandstands where her mom, sister, and niece were staring at the two of them.
“Auntie Shell?” the darling niece piped up.
“Hello, beautiful ladies,” Aiden said, nodding to them. “I am Captain Aiden Porter. I can’t wait to get to know all of you better, but first I have to defeat the general.”
Kingston’s wife laughed. Actually laughed. “I love your confidence.”
“Thank you. Your exquisite sister seems to doubt me.” He smirked at Chalisa.
“Porter,” Kingston barked. “Stop wasting time.”
“Dada!” Hope cried happily, waving to him.
Kingston waved and actually smiled at his daughter.
Aiden forced himself to release Chalisa’s legs and let them slide to the ground. He had to grind his teeth to stop from asking for a kiss for good luck or taking one without her permission. He had never had trouble being strong around a woman before. With other women he’d tease, flirt, but rarely touch them and always walk away without a second thought.
Chalisa was different. Walking away from her three months ago had about destroyed him. He longed for her and felt guilty for leaving her. Neither emotion had happened with any lady before.
“Thank you for holding my shirt and cheering for me,” he said to Chalisa, letting himself get lost in her long-lashed blue eyes for a moment. “Will you do me the honor of sitting with me at dinner after I win?”
Her mom and sister both cracked up at that. Chalisa didn’t. She simply stared at him and then she said in a low, pained voice, “I’ll make Stuart and Wes stop him before he hurts you badly.”
Aiden laughed and thumped his clenched fist against his heart in some weird, archaic gesture like a knight of old. “I appreciate the concern. Now it’s time I prove all of you wrong.” He winked, turned, and strode toward the battle. His grin was as big and genuine as it had ever been. Chalisa cared for him. Deeply. If only he could be the type of man to commit to and love such a woman.
“Ready for me to wipe that smile off your face?” Kingston asked.
“I’m more than ready for you to stop flapping your jaws and try.”
Kingston growled at him and lunged.
Aiden dodged the lunge that would’ve taken him to the dirt with some serious pain from Kingston’s substantial mass. Kingston pivoted quickly and Aiden purposely didn’t evade the fist that slammed into his ribs. It jarred him. He almost lost his footing, and for a normal man it would have cracked a rib.
Ah. That was how it was going to be. The general wasn’t slow, and he was every bit as strong as Aiden suspected.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Aiden taunted, smirking at him.
